North Korea Replaces Bronze Statue Of Kim Jong-Il's Overcoat With An Anorak (PICTURES)

A giant bronze statue of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has had something of a makeover – with its overcoat being replaced with a more casual-looking anorak.

The expensive change, which will have presumably seen the entire statue recast, occurrs just months after the original monument was unveiled.

The tribute to the departed Dear Leader was erected alongside one of North Korean founder Kim Il-Sung in Mansudae in Pyongyang in late December.

Quick change for Kim Jong-Il: The staid overcoat is replaced with a parka

Reports from the North Korean Central News Agency at the time of the unveiling described Jong-Il as “his face beaming with a broad smile, standing in padded dress associated with his indefatigable efforts all his life while wishing the great Paektusan nation a rosy future.”

But all of a sudden, gone is Jong-Il’s three-quarter-length, formal jacket with lapels and three buttons.

And the anorak which replaces it, positively drips with poignant significance.

Old faithful: Kim Jong-Il in his 'threadbare and discoloured' parka

At the time of the Jong-Il’s death the same agency gushingly hailed his “threadbare and discoloured” parka as “a symbol of revolution”.